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JRT Studio Blog - iSyncr, Android, and other cool stuff

Hello to all the awesome iSyncr users out there!
I just wanted to give everyone a heads up over a change around here. Rather than leaving you all with only the information in the title, I'd like to explain why I've made the decision to move iSyncr Lite from being a "Lite" version to being a 14-day trial version.
The first reason for the change is simple… I'd like to alleviate customer confusion. At this point, Chris (our amazing support guru) or I spends 20-30 minutes a day answering customer emails related to the fact that things like play counts do not work with the lite version of iSyncr. While I've enjoyed offering a lite version, the confusion causes too many headaches for people who are using iSyncr for the first time, so we've simplified all of the lite restrictions, which should save us all time. The only restriction on the new trial version is that it only supports 100 songs per playlist. That's it. Play counts/ratings/playlists/start/stop times/USB/WiFi all work with the trial version. So people trying out iSyncr for the first time will be able to get the full experience.
The other reason we are switching to a trial is to simplify iSyncr's development. In the past, I would have to test the lite version restrictions with each release and spend time assessing whether to make each new feature available in the lite version or not. This time added up and took away time I could be spending adding cool new features that everyone could enjoy. There is a long list of feature requests from users that I can now start digging into with the added time.
Lastly, I'd like to add that current lite users need not fear. If you've been using the lite version, it will continue to work for you, even if you update to the trial version. I didn’t want to take away any functionality from our current loyal users. However, if you get a new phone or uninstall the current version of iSyncr Trial, the 14-day trial will start for you, just like anyone else. Sorry but that is just a code thing that I can’t get around.
In the end, I hope that if you do try iSyncr Trial and enjoy using it, you will consider purchasing the paid version to support my continued efforts at making quality Android music apps.
Cheers!
Justin

While the company blog has been hosted at http://blog.jrtstudio.com/ for quite some time. We've decided to make things easier and create a blog entries on our own website instead of using Blogger and a subdomain.
-Justin

Just a note to the Rocket Player users out there. Someone was seeing an issue today where they cannot add a song to a playlist. The action just silently fails. After some troubleshooting, I figured out that Rocket Player DB was corrupted, which is odd. However, the user's log file showed that Rocket Player randomly kept getting killed, which would certainly corrupt the database. The simple lesson here is that Android task killers are not your friend. I highly suggest reading about task killers via Lifehacker....

I get this question a lot. Where is the exit button? The app is totally hogging all of my resources. My phone will be so much faster with a quit button.

These comments are misguided. Android is not Windows. It isn't even Linux in this regard. Android handles loading and unloading apps on its own. Apps have a maximum heap size and cannot grow beyond a set threshold. Hitting the back button until you are out of an app is the "best" way to close it and have it release any resources. There is nothing wrong with your Android device's RAM almost being full. RAM usage does not equal battery usage. In fact, removing Rocket Player from memory takes more battery power than just leaving it hanging out there.

What happens when I hit pause and back out of Rocket Player?
After two minutes of inactivity, Rocket Player will shut down its main audio service and release any system resources it might have been holding. Rocket Player as an application will remain in inert in memory until the OS removes it because it needs the space. This is a GOOD thing. Rocket Player will load faster the next time if it didn't need to be unloaded for something else.

What is the "TinyHeadsetService"?
If you have "Settings->Operation->Headset Settings->Begin Play On Connect" set, then Rocket Player will always have a "TinyHeadsetService" running to listen for headphones being plugged in. This takes no juice from your phone and Android will still remove this service from memory if something more important needs the RAM. If you want to disable this, untoggle "Begin Play on Connect" and reboot your device.

Some other music application has an exit button. Rocket Player should too!
Not so. Just because someone else refuses to respect the Android Operating System doesn't mean I should too. If you want the behavior of Rocket Player to change due to an exit button, that is different. Email us at [email protected] and let's talk about what you want and why. An exit button isn't really what you want, but maybe we can figure out what change in behavior you'd like

For a more gory details about Android's lack of an exit button, please see goo.gl/wEYH0.-Justin

Flip through your tracks faster than ever with new album art gesture support

Shuffle smarter with a new algorithm

Add a playlist to another playlist to save time

Save the “Now Playing” playlist as a new playlist to keep permanently

Customize your lock screen with the new lock screen widget (4.2+)

We have not forgotten our Amazon Appstore listeners and supporters.

Rocket Player 2.0 is not yet available in the Amazon Appstore. Amazon is currently reviewing the update and the new theme apps.

Lastly, for our Google Play users, we apologize for the constant app updating. However, we are committed to fixing all of the issues we can. Thanks to all those that have contacted us with different crashes and issues.

Today we are releasing Rocket Player 2.0, our free android music player, to the public via the XDA forums. At this time, Rocket Player 2.0 is still a beta product, but we'd love your help in testing it. In return, you will get early access to our rockin' new features such as the purple and blue themes, gesture support and more.

For a full list of the new features and to help us test the beta, please go to the XDA forum page.

For those of you keeping score out there that's (8) new versions released from JRT Studio in a little over a month and a half aimed at improving customer experience and of course providing the features our supporters have requested!

NEW Feature: Rocket Player Search Support (1.6.0)

NEW Feature: Rocket Player Folder support (1.7.0)

Got an issue with a JRT Studio application or a feature that you'd like to see? Send us your wish list!

We've already heard from several of you, but we want to hear from everyone who has been syncing, listening and supporting us! Please reach out to us on these social platforms, or please drop us a correspondence via email.

Update 2/12/2013: After updating Rocket Player to 1.7.1 today, it seems the Play Store is allowing tablets to install Rocket Player once again. I have no idea why and still have no reason from the Play Store team.Update 2/6/2013: The Play Store team got back to me, and said "Our records indicate that your app is currently published on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrtstudio.AnotherMusicPlayerIf you're still having trouble, please let us know and we'll be happy to assist you further." Obviously, they have yet to read an actual sentence of my email explaining that Rocket Player has suddenly stop showing up as available for tablets. Hopefully the canned responses will end soon and they will begin looking into the issue.2/5/2013: Rocket Player is not showing up in the Play Store for tablets at this time. I am convinced the issue is on Google's side. I didn't update any filtering parameters for Rocket Player during this update. I have contacted Google about this issue on 2/5/2013. I'll update this post when they fix the issue so that everyone can enjoy this update.

The better news is.... Rocket Player got an awesome update to version 1.7.0 today. This update adds two great features. Feature one is a folder view. You have been asking for folder view. So I added it. As this feature is brand new, I want to hear back from you about what you think of it. The second new feature is the ability to select which folders Rocket Player will scan for new music. While the defaults should do you justice, it is no longer a deal breaker if they don't! Just update Rocket Player to scan where you store your music.